The “Virtual Focus Group”: Using the Internet to Reach Pregnant Women on Home Bed Rest

Adler, Carrie L.; Zarchin, Yosepha Rose

doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2002.tb00064.x

Cited by 87 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In this article, we report on a collaborative project that examined the potential of online discussion boards in Blackboard as virtual focus groups, a term used by Adler and Zarchin (2002), as a tool for formal qualitative research. In particular, we report on whether online discussion boards can be used to carry out theoretically sound focus group research; whether an online data collection method can facilitate the involvement in attitudinal research of difficult-to-access groups who are disparately spread and often hesitant to respond; and whether the method allows sensitive data collection through the provision of a secure, safe, and anonymous environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Focus Groups: New Frontiers in Research

Turney

Pocknee

2005

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

110

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New information and communication technologies in the form of learning management systems provide unique and inventive opportunities for qualitative researchers. Their intrinsic ability to record discursive data in text format accurately and to provide safe, secure, and anonymous environments for participants makes them amenable for use as advanced research tools. In this article, the authors report on a collaborative project that tested the potential of online discussion boards for use in virtual focus groups. What the researchers found was that not only was the method theoretically sound, it actually enhanced their ability to connect with difficult-to-access populations that were disparately spread.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Focus Groups: New Frontiers in Research

Turney

Pocknee

2005

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

110

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“…Use of the Internet to engage in data collection is time-and cost-efficient (Duffy, 2000;Wilson, 2003), effective in accessing difficult-to-reach populations (Mangan & Reips, 2007;Yeaworth, 2001), and enhances respondents' comfort with the process and motivation to participate (Adler & Zarchin, 2002;Gosling, Vazire, Srivastava, & John, 2004). A review of Web-based studies published in the American Psychological Association journals between 2003(Skitka & Sargis, 2006 revealed that 21% of those journals had published at least one such study.…”

Section: Web-based Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inadequate preabortion counseling and decision conflict as predictors of subsequent relationship difficulties and psychological stress in men and women.

Coyle¹,

Coleman

Rue³

2010

Traumatology

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The purpose of this study was to examine associations between perceptions of preabortion counseling adequacy and partner congruence in abortion decisions and two sets of outcome variables involving relationship problems and individual psychological stress. Data were collected through online surveys from 374 women who had a prior abortion and 198 men whose partners had experienced elective abortion. For women, perceptions of preabortion counseling inadequacy predicted relationship problems, symptoms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal, and meeting full diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with controls for demographic and personal/situational variables used. For men, perceptions of inadequate counseling predicted relationship problems and symptoms of intrusion and avoidance with the same controls used. Incongruence in the decision to abort predicted intrusion and meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD among women with controls used, whereas for men, decision incongruence predicted intrusion, hyperarousal, meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD, and relationship problems. Findings suggest that both perceptions of inadequate preabortion counseling and incongruence in the abortion decision with one's partner are related to adverse personal and interpersonal outcomes.

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“…Indeed, parents form a high proportion of those who are using the internet to seek health care advice for self-diagnosis for themselves and their children, a trend reflected in the growth of the number of parenting websites (Sarkadi and Bremberg 2005). Moreover, the benefits of using the internet for disseminating parenting skills have been recognised by health professionals, aware that the resources available for teaching new parents about the day-to-day aspects of child care are limited (Alder and Zarchin 2002;Hudson et al 2003;Lamp and Howard 1999). Parenting websites offer users the opportunity to join an online community based around a common interest, providing information, support and advice (Burrows et al 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

Madge

O’Connor

2006

Social & Cultural Geography

234

222

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The extension of information and communication technologies is purported to provide great opportunities for women, with the potential for empowerment and feminist activism. This paper contributes to the debate about women and cyberspace through a focus on the role of the internet in the lives of a group of technologically proficient, socially advantaged white heterosexual new mothers. The internet played a central role in providing virtual social support and alternative information sources which increased these women's real sense of empowerment in the transition to motherhood. Simultaneously, however, very traditional stereotypes of mothering and gender roles persisted. A paradox is evident whereby the internet was both liberating and constraining: it played an important social role for some women while at the same time it encouraged restrictive and unequal gender stereotypes in this particular community of practice. An examination of new virtual parenting spaces therefore has a contribution to make in understanding changing parenting practices in the new millennium.Key words: Cyberspace, internet, mothers, empowerment.3 Women, the internet and empowermentRecent research suggests that the extension of ICT (information and communication technologies) into virtually every area of society provides great opportunities for women (Cherny and Weise 1996;Kennedy 2000). It is claimed that ICT have the potential for empowering women, enabling feminist activism and resistance to male power (Harcourt 1999;Sutton and Pollock 2000;Youngs 2001). Much has been made of the support, information exchange and political potential afforded to women through online community membership (Kramer and Kramarae 2000;Pudrovska and Ferree 2004;Vehvilainen 2001) and how ICT offer new opportunities for women to develop as entrepreneurs and innovators (Martin and Wright 2005). Others suggest cyberspatial technologies can enable a radical renegotiation of gender relations and challenge patriarchal hegemony (Haraway 1985;Jenson et al. 2003;Travers 2003).However, over zealous claims of the power of ICT for transforming women's lives are not without critics (Gajjala 2003;Gajjala and Mamidipudi 1999;Mitra 2001;Woolgar 2002). Studies have shown how online discourses and practices continue to reflect and reinforce the unequal gender power relations present in onsite institutions and social conventions (Hocks 1999;Josok et al. 2003) and sexist practices abound (Cunneen and Stubbs 2000). Moreover, while the gender gap with regard to internet use is narrowing, the majority of women on the internet still continue to be white academic professionals (Travers 2003). The majority of participants on bulletin boards and listserves are also still men and men also dominate participation volumes and agenda setting even in feminist and mixed-gender cyberspaces (Gurak 2001). Recent studies suggest that effective use of the internet to increase women's empowerment may be overshadowed by its commercialization (Shade 2003) and its role in affirming norms of femi...

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The “Virtual Focus Group”: Using the Internet to Reach Pregnant Women on Home Bed Rest

Cited by 87 publications

References 15 publications

Virtual Focus Groups: New Frontiers in Research

Virtual Focus Groups: New Frontiers in Research

Inadequate preabortion counseling and decision conflict as predictors of subsequent relationship difficulties and psychological stress in men and women.

Parenting gone wired: empowerment of new mothers on the internet?

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